House begins inquiry into electoral role fiasco

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives' team tasked with investigating inconsistences in electoral roles used for the April 9 legislative election has begun travelling regionally to investigate alleged mismanagement at a local level.

Election observers claim as many as 40 million eligible voters were disenfranchised in the election.

"Members of the teams have visited regions in South Sulawesi, East Java, Papua and Bali. There are five teams in total. I, myself, lead a team to visit Papua," head of the inquiry team, Gayus Lumbuun, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Gayus said the team would gather data directly from regional leaders to determine if any foul play took place.

"We will assess the data and then we will summon officials of institutions responsible for the elections, such as the General Elections Commission *KPU*, the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry," he said.

Gayus said that each team would spend between three and four days in each region depending on the size of the area.

"Therefore, we will have a plenary team meeting next week to discuss our findings, and to determine which institution needs to be summoned," he said. - JP